


Rock my socks off. Then give them back.

by Laurana117



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Angst, Fluff, Humor, M/M, rock star thor, sneak dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4334030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurana117/pseuds/Laurana117
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki Laufeyson is a political and foreign affairs journalist. But when the pop culture person at his magazine is fired Loki has to cover a budding rock band named Mjolnir. The lead singer Thor might be the hottest and nicest guy Loki has ever met.</p><p>Rock Stars and Journalism combine in this AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bright Lights

**Author's Note:**

> This is my newest attempt at a Thorki AU. I hope everyone likes it. Also, I don't know a whole lot about journalism or the music industry. But I figured that this was just fanfiction and not for a grade so I went for it.

Loki was not in a good mood. His coffee was bad and his computer had a low battery and he was tired and cold.

It didn’t help that he was being sent to cover a story that he for once, knew nothing about.

He knew almost everything about international politics and all the conflicts in the world.

But pop culture? Nope. He barely had time to listen to a radio or watch tv. He was always writing or reading or traveling. He was a journalist and he loved his job.

He did a lot of freelance work on the side. He wrote essays for other magazines and articles about world events for extra money. But his primary job was as a journalist for Frost, one of the more successful magazines in print.

And he was hoping that Frost would send him to cover the possible civil war in Wakanda. But no. He had instead been sent to cover the rise of a rock band.

Literally something Loki knew nothing about. He listened to music that was popular twenty years ago. He didn’t know anything about current music.

But Sigyn had made it a little better when she said that the lead singer was supposedly one of the hottest men she had ever seen. So that would make it worth it a little.

But Loki was still miserable. He was flying economy to Las Vegas for a music festival where he would write his article over Mjolnir. He was cold and hungry and tired. He had gotten in late two days before from Genovia and he had had almost no time to sleep between turning in at work finishing an essay for another newspaper and getting his new assignment.

He was typing an email furiously to his friend Sigyn about how much the world needed to cover the conflict in Wakanda. She usually agreed with him on these things, and he wasn’t worried about her possibly stealing his story because she covered fashion and diets. She hated covering foreign affairs. It just made her sad.

He had just had his third full body shiver when the guy sitting next to him cleared his throat.

Loki turned to tell the guy to stuff it and bit his tongue.

Because Loki was sitting next to the hottest guy he had ever seen. He was big and blond and looked like he had just walked out of an underwear ad.

He also had pierced ears and long blond hair, which was odd. But Loki was really into it.

The guy smiled at Loki. “Would you like to borrow my jacket?”

“No I’m fine.” Loki said and then he returned to the essay on his computer. X-Men magazine had wanted him to write out an essay about current study on human evolution. And Loki had been researching it hardcore for two weeks.

“I don’t want to overstep a line or anything, but you haven’t stopped shivering since you boarded the plane.” The guy said again.

Loki looked up and the guy was pushing a red jacket into his hands.

Loki sighed and put it on noticing that it smelled nice. Like it had been freshly washed. Loki found himself relaxing into its warmth. His muscles all let go of their previous tensing.

“Can I ask what you are writing?” The man asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow. Normally he remained a private person. But the guy had given Loki his coat. He could talk to him for a little bit.

“I’m writing an essay on possible human evolution. It’s for X-Men magazine.”

“Oh! So you’re a reporter?”

“I prefer journalist. But yes I am.”

“Are you traveling to cover a big story? What’s your name? Maybe I’ve read something from you.”

“I’m Loki Laufeyson and I wish. I would love to cover a large story like the Wakandan conflict or the Genoshian revolutions. But right now I’m going to Vegas to cover a new rock band. Apparently they’re changing the entire rock scene or something.”

The man laughed. “What is the band’s name?”

“Mjolnir.” Loki creased his eyebrow as he said.

Recognition flickered across the man’s face. “Oh?” He sounded choked.

“So you’ve heard of them. Are they any good?” Loki asked.

“You haven’t listened to them?”

“I haven’t listened to anything for a long time.” Loki admitted. “I don’t have the time to discover new music.”

The man grinned again. “What do you listen to then?”

“Instrumental stuff, Matchbox 20. And other random stuff.” Loki said. “But I’ll be listening to new rock now.”

The guy laughed. “I like Matchbox 20. They’re really old, but they’re good.”

“Yeah. But I’m excited about this new band. My friend told me that their lead singer is the sexiest man alive or something.”

“Ah.” The man said. Like he didn’t know how to respond.

“Not that I’m expecting much. I bet they’re a bunch of college drop outs or something. I have a bunch of friends who must be super jealous.”

“Do you interview a lot of pop stars?”

“Occasionally. But Frost prefers for me to write about politics and academia. But sometimes I get sent out on assignments like this.”

The guy nodded. “That sounds fun. I wish I was good enough at writing to make a living off of it like you.”

Loki shrugged. “It hasn’t been easy. But I think you should try it if you really want to. The industry has changed so much that anyone can be a journalist.”

“Do you like the article that you’re writing?”

Loki brightened. “Yes! I was finishing a report on all the current scientific articles on human evolution. X-Men magazine wanted to know what the scientific field has to say about how we’re going to evolve. It was so much fun to write.”

The man’s eyes brightened, and he began to ask some questions about the article.

They talked all the way until their plane landed in Las Vegas, and Loki didn’t manage to get the hot guy’s name. But they said goodbye and Loki headed right to his hotel. The hot guy had to go somewhere else and didn’t take Loki.

Loki got into his hotel room an hour later and set his one bag down and instantly opened his laptop so that he could send his essay to X-Men magazine.

Then Loki got dressed for the night. Tonight Mjolnir would be performing for a short time. Just a few songs, their full performance would be in two days.

Once it was time to go Loki made sure he looked good in his outfit, grabbed his press pass and left for the music festival.

Loki had never had the chance to attend a music festival. He had been so busy working non-stop ever since he was twenty that his life had gotten quite boring.

Loki was led along with the other reporters to a special part of the crowd and told that they would all get to go backstage after the show for quick interviews with the band members. Loki scoffed. He probably wouldn’t be able to get a good answer from any of them. But going backstage should be exciting.

Loki waited for the thing to begin, noticing once again how dead tired he was.

When the lights flickered and the word ‘Mjolnir’ lit up on the stage and the band came out and went to their instruments.

And there at the microphone stood the hot guy from the plane.

Loki’s jaw dropped. He had been riding a plane next to Thor. And had said all those things about the band.

Loki was shocked. He had been duped! And he was pretty sure that Thor looked right at him and winked before the show began.

After the show as promised Loki went backstage with the other reporters and just stood there as the other reporters went to ask the band members questions.

But Thor made a beeline right for him. And the smile on his face was back.

“You duped me.” Loki said with a glare when Thor was in front of him.

Thor looked sweaty and shiny from all the lights but he was smiling. “I didn’t want to change your opinion of my band before you heard us.”

Then Thor placed a slip of paper in Loki’s hand. “Come here tomorrow morning at ten. I want to give you an exclusive interview.” Thor winked.

Loki expected it to be a coffee shop or something. But when he unrolled the paper he saw that it was a hotel room.

Why did Thor want to do the exclusive interview in a hotel room?


	2. You're So Real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I was gone so long. I was in the windy city for a few days. I hope this chapter finds everyone well.

Loki went to the hotel room at exactly ten am like Thor had asked. He was surprised when Thor opened the door.

“Hmm.” Loki said. Then he presented the jacket. “I forgot to give this back to you.”

Thor grinned. “Thank you.” He took the jacket and put it on his bed. Then he joined Loki in the hall.

“Where are we doing the interview?” Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Everywhere.” Thor said with a smile. “I wanted someone to go see Vegas with me and I figured we could do both.”

“You mean you just wanted me to follow you around asking questions?” Loki asked.

Thor shrugged. “I didn’t want to wander alone by myself. So I thought we could interview and you could come with me. Have you been to Vegas before?”

“I’ve only been to interview a comedian and in the bars.”

“Well then let’s go!” Thor was like a little kid.

“Where do you want to go?” Loki asked as he fell in step beside him. “Do you want to go see some strippers? Gambling? Vegas should have a few shows during the day.”

“Let’s go to M&M world.” Thor said. “I want to get my nephew a present.”

Loki’s jaw hung open.

Thor was dressed in head to toe tight black, with his long hair and his ear piercings and he wanted to go to M&M world. That’s what Loki got for stereotyping.

“I took you for the gambling type.” Loki admitted.

“Please! It took me too long to be able to make money in my profession. I wouldn’t waste any of it after that.” Thor shrugged.

“Well then off to M&M world I guess. Should I call an uber or a cab?” Loki asked.

“No I have a rental and no one else wants to use it.” Thor said.

It was probably not the best idea to get in a car with a pretty much stranger. But Loki had done riskier things in his life to get a good story so he wasn’t too scared. He also had two switchblades on him in case Thor proved to be a creep.

Not that Thor was giving any indication that he was a total creep. He actually seemed pretty normal for a rock star.

This should be fun. Loki spent so much time around stuffy politicians and academics that it might be nice to spend a day out with a rock star.

When they reached the door to the parking lot Thor held it open for Loki like a gentleman.

“Did you get your evolution article written?” Thor asked.

“Yep. Turned it in and everything.” Loki said.

Thor laughed. “It’s like high school all over again.” Thor shook his head and got his keys out to unlock an unassuming car. “I always waited until the last second to turn my papers in. My teachers all hated me.”

“I bet you were on an athletic scholarship or something and they all had to accept late work from you.” Loki eased himself into the passenger seat.

“Not after my first year in college. Which I graduated by the way. I have a degree in business administration. I was on an athletic scholarship until I got hurt. After that I couldn’t play football again.”

Loki nodded. “So your band isn’t all college drop outs. But that’s interesting. You studied business and now you’re in music.”

Thor laughed. “Yeah. I co-own a bakery with my friend Steve when I’m not doing this.” He said. “I like music more. But the bakery is going pretty well too.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Where is it?”

“In Jersey. We couldn’t afford Brooklyn where Steve wanted it. But at least we’re close enough so we get a breakfast and lunch rush.” Thor shrugged again.

“I’ll have to try it out. I live in New York too.” Loki said.

Thor looked over then. His eyes bright. “You do?”

“Yeah.” Loki said. “If you want to do my kind of journalism it’s either, LA, New York or DC. And I’m not a fan of LA or DC. So New York it was.”

“Did you go to college?” Thor asked.

“Yeah.” Loki said with a smile. He was proud of himself. It had been one of the hardest things he had ever done, graduating college. “I studied political science and English.”

“Not journalism?” Thor sounded actually intrigued.

“Nope. Like I said on the plane, you don’t need a degree in journalism to be a journalist.” Loki said. “And I want to be an author when I grow up and the fun of traveling and covering politicians and rock stars wears off.”

“You’re so put together.” Thor said. “I’m jealous.”

Loki didn’t know when he had become the topic of conversation. They were supposed to be talking about Thor. Loki was supposed to be interviewing him.

“It certainly took a while.” Loki said. “But we’re supposed to be talking about you. You know when you guys make it you can’t take every journalist out on the town.”

Thor laughed. “I know. But I wanted to take you.” He said. “You never know, when we make it people might be clamoring for your article about us.”

Loki raised a brow. “That’s not how it works. Plus, I haven’t even met the rest of the band. Only you. It’s not shaping up to be a great article.”

Thor waved it off. “You have the lead singer and songwriter with you. That’s all mostly what people care about.”

“Wow. That’s pretty harsh.”

Thor laughed. “Not really. Everyone else is really shy. They love making music but not the idea that people want to know about our personal lives.”

“I haven’t asked about your personal life!” Loki said adamantly. “By the way, are you in a relationship?”

Thor laughed even louder at that. “No! No time for a relationship. I’m very busy.”

“Well that’s boring.” Loki said. “Everyone’s into the idea of secret lovers for every celebrity. The whole world thinks that Tony Stark has a secret lover. But I can confirm that he is completely single too.”

“What? You know him?”

“Of course. I wrote a piece on him last year. We’ve been friends ever since.” Loki said. “I was the second person he called after his break up.”

“Not the first?” Thor sounded amused.

“Nope. That was his friend Rhodey. But once again, I’ve gotten off topic.” Loki said. “Say something next time I start rambling. We’re supposed to be focused on you.”

“I don’t mind. You’re fun for a journalist. And now that you’re on Tony Stark’s speed dial, well I don’t know if I’m cool enough to hang out with you.” Thor winked at him as he parked the car.

Loki had to say, Thor’s driving was pretty good. Normally Loki was really nervous in cars because he had been in a lot of accidents but with Thor it hadn’t been too scary.

“We’re not hanging out.” Loki said as he held up a finger. “This is strictly a business thing.”

Thor’s eyes were crinkled at the corner as he smiled. “Of course. Now tell me, which color of M&M is your favorite?”

“They all taste the same.” Loki said.

“I disagree. I quite like the red ones myself.” Thor said. “Apparently on one of the floors in here you can sample each color.”

“Thor. Didn’t you study business? That’s all marketing. They’re all exactly the same.” Loki said.

By then they were outside walking towards the place. Loki noticed that Thor had placed a hand on his lower back and was kind of steering him and kind of holding him close. How strange. This was not normal interview behavior at all. But then again, who goes to M&M world for an interview?

“How old is your nephew?” Loki asked. “Because I’m pretty sure M&M’s are a choking hazard for little kids.”

“Oh no. We don’t have to worry about that. Bjorn is five.” Thor said.

“I see.” Loki said. They appeared to be in some sort of gift shop on this level. Loki had not been this much of a tourist in years. He was looking at the little stuffed M&M creatures, nostalgic about the time when he was young enough to want one. Byleistr would have made fun of him a lot, but Loki would have loved them.

“Do you have any nephews?” Thor asked.

Loki turned and laughed abruptly. All thoughts of his estranged brother gone when he saw that Thor was wearing a mask that made his face look like an M&M.

“No. No nephews for me.” Loki said fondly. That wasn’t strictly true. Loki just hadn’t talked to his brother in four years so it was hard to know.

“I didn’t know I would love mine so much. He’s my favorite kid in the world. And he really wanted to come here. But his parents didn’t want to take him to Vegas.” Thor said as he set the mask down. “I don’t blame them.”

“That’ll be good for the article.” Loki said as he took note. “You like kids. So women everywhere will like you for more than your looks.”

Thor took an M&M stuffy and balanced it on top of Loki’s head. He laughed and Loki caught him taking a picture. “Hey!” He said sharply as he tried to grab Thor’s phone.

“I’m sorry, it was just too adorable not to get.” Thor said with his crinkly smile. “I can send it to you! What’s your number?”

Loki guessed that it would be helpful if he and Thor had each-others numbers. So he exchanged it and then they went upstairs to the differently colored M&M’s.

Loki found himself thinking that this interview was a lot like a date. But that didn’t make sense.

He pushed thought away when Thor called his name to try the different colored M&M’s. Because he was going to prove Thor wrong.


	3. Back 2 Good

Loki and Thor went to a coffee shop and had some lunch after the M&M’s.

“This is good.” Thor said as he sipped on the drink Loki had ordered for him.

“Are these pastries better or worse than yours?” Loki asked.

“Definitely worse.” Thor said. “Mine are made with love. These were made without it. You can taste it.”

Loki found himself nodding. He had never been one to really care. He hadn’t had so much as a home-made cookie in five years. So he had gotten used to store bought.

“You’ll have to come by.” Thor said. “I’ll make you some cookies. They will be much better than this nonsense.”

Loki smiled. “I’ll do it. Text me your address and I’ll stop by next time I’m in town.”

Thor got his phone out and sent it.

After that they went to see a comedy show, and Loki was surprised at what Thor laughed at. It is common knowledge that you can gauge a person’s intelligence level by what they laugh at and Loki was not disappointed.

Thor was pretty fun.

And that night when they went back to the hotel Thor hugged Loki good night, and had to go. The band wanted to see Thor before the next day when their big performance was.

Loki laid down in his bed and looked at his laptop. Normally he would be up and typing up the piece on Mjolnir already. But for some reason he didn’t want to use much of the information Thor had given him. It felt too personal. Loki had learned a lot about Thor and didn’t want to share too much of it.

Because that had been the weirdest interview Loki had ever done. It had almost been like a nosy date. With Loki asking all the questions. But Loki hadn’t stopped there. He had told Thor all about his life too. Why would he care about that? Loki was just someone to give him some publicity. It wasn’t like that.

With resolve Loki sat up and opened his laptop and began writing an outline. He had four days to get this completed, so he better start now.

Then Loki passed out after he outlined the beginning.

The next morning Loki was wandering through the continental breakfast at the hotel. He got some of the coffee and a plate of fruit and then sat down.

Loki was going through emails on his phone when someone sat across from him at his table.

It was Thor.

He looked bright and cheery. Of course he was a morning person. He probably had to get up ridiculously early to make muffins at his bakery.

Loki almost told him to get lost. He didn’t like talking to people before eight am. But he made an exception for Thor because he had treated Loki to such a nice day in the city.

“Hello.” Thor said. “Did you sleep well?”

What an extrovert.

Loki nodded. He hoped that his bags were going away. Because they were so embarrassing. They made him look like an over-worked peasant.

“Today is the big day. I’m nervous. If I don’t do well then nobody will buy our merchandise or our album.”

Loki frowned. “You’ll do fine. All the reviews I found for you were great. Everyone will love you.”

Thor’s smile was wide and crinkly. “I hope so!” He said happily.

They separated then. Loki went back to his room to write and Thor went to his band.

Evening time rolled around and Loki left with his press pass to go watch some bands. Thor would perform that afternoon and Loki would get on a flight later that night and go home. His article was due the next morning.

Loki guessed that he could go see a few other bands. He would probably never go to a music festival again. He didn’t care for the crowds or the heat. But the music was great.

He took note of some of the bands he liked. He would listen to more from them. Maybe it was time that he branched out. Not that he was giving up Matchbox 20. They would always be his favorite.

Then it was time for Mjolnir to perform. He had listened to a few of their songs on youtube and he was intrigued. If Thor really was the song writer then he was a damn good one.

Loki followed the other reporters to the spot for the press and he got comfortable. He checked his phone, unsurprised when there were no new messages. It wasn’t like he had any family to ask about him.

He looked up when the lights dimmed and watched as Mjolnir went onstage. There was Thor, and Sif, and Volstagg and Hogunn and Fandral. The other members of the band were much shier than Thor. It was easy to tell.

He was basking in the attentions of the crowd. He looked beautiful with his blond hair all lit up in stage lights. What an extrovert.

The show was fantastic. Loki wanted to melt during a more metal sounding song. He loved metal music.

Afterwards Loki went backstage again with all the reporters. He saw Sif standing with Fandral. Both of them had huge grins on their faces and seemed exhilarated from playing.

Loki went up to them and once he had their attention he said, “So I already interviewed Thor. What do you two think about your rise to success?”

Sif raised an eyebrow. “You interviewed Thor?” She asked with a frown.

“Yeah yesterday. We went out on the town.” Loki answered impatiently. He had to leave soon to catch his flight. And then after that he had to hurry and finish his article or else his boss Emma would flay him.

“Our rise to success was awesome! I never thought it would happen.” Fandral said as he sent Sif a look.

“Thanks.” Loki said. “You guys were great.” He added as an afterthought.

As Loki was making his way for the exit Thor stepped in front of him.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Thor asked.

“Yeah. You guys did great.” Loki said.

“Are you heading back to New York?” Thor asked.

“Yep. I gotta turn this article in on time.” Loki said.

“I see. Well don’t forget about coming to see me at my bakery. I texted yout the address! We’re open from 6:30am until 5pm.” Thor said. “I’d like to see you again.”

“Me too. Goodbye.” Loki gave an awkward wave, not sure of what he should do.

Thor stepped forward and pulled Loki into a hug. He squeezed his huge arms tightly around Loki. “It was nice to meet you.” He said. What an extrovert.

Loki hugged him back. “You too.”

Thor brushed Loki’s cheek with his bearded one in a weird form of affection. Were they cats?

“I’ll see you soon.” Thor promised with sparkling eyes.

On Loki’s trip back to New York he kept getting distracted thinking about blond rock stars.


	4. Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could call this fic 'Loki vs Feelings'

Loki did not go to Thor’s bakery. He ended up having to jet out to Kansas the day after he got back. One of the Senators there was apparently doing something crazy. He was supporting trans-gendered rights and was making waves. As Kansas was part of the bible belt, supporting trans-gender rights was a little unheard of for elected officials.

Loki liked the senator. The guy was old and had a weird sense of humor.

“All they wanna do is put the gender they want on their drivers license and pick their bathroom. That’s the least we can do for them.” The old guy said to Loki one afternoon.

Loki was sure that trans-gender rights were a great deal more complicated than that. But the legislation this man was writing would make great strides in the right direction.

“Is there a reason you’ve decided to take this stance?” Loki asked.

“Sure there is. My granddaughter. She was born a boy, but she isn’t one anymore. And I don’t want her to get bullied at school.” The Senator said. “We’re all Americans, what should it bother someone like me if a trans-gendered person wants to use a special bathroom? Safety should be our number one concern.”

Loki looked at the man’s desk and saw a picture of a little blond girl. She was very pretty.

“I think you’re really going to make a difference.” Loki said. “And once this article is published you’ll have a lot more supporters for sure.”

“Thank you very much.” The Senator said. “Without people like you the public would never know that old white senators like me care about the youth.”

Loki smiled. This was why he loved his job.

“But between you and me.” The Senator said quietly. “I can’t wait until there’s more Senators who aren’t old white men.”

Loki felt a weird warmth settle in his heart. It was hope. “I do too.” Loki said quietly.

Loki went back to New York in time for a party Tony Stark was having. He texted Loki about it when Loki had made it back to his apartment and was most likely a little tipsy.

_Lokiii come over. I’m having a party._

Loki hoped that it wasn’t going to be Tony messing with him. One time Tony had invited Loki over for ‘drinks’ and it had turned out to be a shareholders meeting. No one had been happy when a journalist had walked in when they were yelling. But Tony had given Loki a big hug and set him up at the head of the table.

That had been a little mortifying. But everyone started behaving after Loki appeared. The Pen is mightier than the sword after all.

Loki thought about Tony’s current invitation. He looked around his little apartment and remembered that the only food he had in his fridge was old lettuce and carrots. That was hardly a dinner and Loki needed all his money for rent until Friday. Maybe Tony would have food at his party.

Loki didn’t want to go alone though. He always felt a little out of place. People heard he was a reporter and got weird. Like they thought that he would write about them in gossip rag magazines. No one believed him when he said that he didn’t care about gossip crap.

Loki picked his phone up and opened his messages. Beneath Tony’s was his and Sigyn’s ever flowing conversation, and beneath that was Thor’s message.

Loki thought about it. But then he shrugged. Thor could plug his band and bakery to some rich people if he got bored of Loki.

Loki pressed call.

“Hello.” Thor answered after the second ring.

“Hey.” Loki said. “What are you doing tonight?”

“I was washing dishes.” Thor said. “And after that I was going to sleep.”

“Wow that sounds pretty lame.” Loki said. “How would you feel about instead going to Tony Stark’s party with me? You can plug your band to some influential people.”

Thor sounded surprised. “Really? You want me to go to a fancy party with you?”

“It’s not really fancy. It’s just a lot of expensive alcohol and strippers.” Loki smiled.

“Sounds like college. Sure I’ll go. Is it alright if I bring my friend Steve? He wants to meet Tony Stark.” Thor said.

“Yeah sure bring Steve. But don’t get his hopes up about Tony. He’s not like what the papers say about him.” Loki said. Loki didn’t know how to tell Thor that Tony was just an insomniac genius who hated fitness.

“Steve is well aware.” Thor said.

They agreed to meet outside Tony’s building in a few hours and Loki collapsed onto his bed and ignored his growling stomach. He would probably lose a few pounds before payday but it was all worth it. Especially after he finished the trans-gendered article.

Loki roused himself with enough time to brush his teeth and change his shirt before heading out. He was excited about tonight. He liked Thor. He hoped that they could be friends.

Loki saw Thor sitting on a bench outside Stark tower with another blond hunk of muscle. Loki sort of stood in the middle of the sidewalk because Steve was _hot._ What was with his luck lately? All these attractive blonds entering his life.

“Hey Thor.” Loki said smoothly as he walked up.

“Hello.” Thor said happily as he rose and wrapped Loki in a hug. Loki tried to ignore how nice it felt to be held by someone so much bigger than him.

Steve stood up and offered Loki a hand. “Steve Rogers.” He said warmly.

Loki tried to focus on Steve’s eyes and not his bulging muscles. How the hell did a baker get so ripped?

“Loki Laufeyson.” Loki returned.

“Thor has told me a lot about you.” Steve said.

“I hope it’s all good.” Loki said.

“Only the best.” Steve said. But as he said it he sent a weird look to Thor. It was indecipherable to Loki but Thor blushed a little and looked away.

“Thor told me you wanted to meet Tony Stark?” Loki prompted.

Steve brightened. “Yeah! I wanted to thank him. Since he switched from developing weapons to clean energy and philanthropy. I just think it’s very brave of him. And I wanted to tell him that from a soldier’s perspective, I’m happy that he stopped making weapons and started helping the world.” Steve said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “You were a soldier?”

“Yeah I was deployed twice. I’m totally fine though.”

Loki looked Steve up and down and nodded. Tony was going to love Steve. Tony’s type was not anywhere near six foot tall blond muscly men, but Tony would make an exception for this one. Loki knew it without a doubt.

Also if Steve could bake that was a plus. The world didn’t know about Tony Stark’s donut addiction.

“Let’s go in.” Loki said cheerfully. “Tony will want to meet the Bakers from Brooklyn.”

“We’re actually from Jersey.” Steve corrected.

“Something tells me you’ll be able to afford Brooklyn soon.” Loki winked.

By then they were on the elevator up to the penthouse.

When they stepped out Thor and Steve stopped to take it all in. Tony’s place was really luxurious, and at night it had some of the best views of the city. Loki was a little jealous himself. But would never give up his current life for Tony Stark’s.

“This is really nice.” Thor said as he raised his hand up and put it on Loki’s lower back. Loki didn’t comment about it though. It felt nice.

“Yeah Tony’s place is pretty sweet.”

“Lokii!” Tony Stark’s voice bellowed. He was on the couch with a bunch of super models eating strawberries. “You made it back from Kansas just in time to see me right?” His eyes were huge and bright. No doubt from the alcohol.

“Sure.” Loki said as he walked over. “I mean its Kansas. Why would I want to stay longer?”

Tony grinned and was about to say something until he saw Steve and Thor.

Tony’s jaw hung open and he looked at them.

“Who are they?”

“This is Thor. I wrote a piece on him last week. He’s a musician. And this is Steve. He’s Thor’s friend.” Loki supplied.

“This is a very nice place.” Thor said. “I knew it was going to be nice, but I am surprised.”

Tony nodded but his eyes had caught where Thor’s hand was. He smiled at Loki mischievously and stood up.

“Would you two beautiful blonds like a tour from the man himself?” Tony asked with a grand gesture.

Loki tried not to vomit in his mouth. Tony could be so nauseating sometimes.

Steve was smiling and looking shy though. It was adorable.

“No thanks.” Steve said. “I just wanted to tell you that what you’re doing with clean energy is a good thing. And I’m happy you made the switch.” He said nervously. “I think I should go now. I have to get up early.”

Tony’s face was blank but he was staring. Then he straightened up and Loki watched as the Tony Stark persona fell away and in its place stood Tony. The completely loveable nerd.

“That means a lot.” Tony said. “How about I get you something to drink? I have an open bar over there. Let’s go.” He gestured for Steve to follow him. And amazingly, Steve did.

Loki and Thor watched them go.

“Is Tony a good guy?” Thor asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Because Steve has gone through more than enough pain. He does not need a millionaire being mean to him.”

Loki turned and grinned up at him. “Tony’s going to talk himself in circles. He babbles when he gets nervous. And Steve is making him really nervous.”

“Hmm.” Thor said. Then he said, “Let’s sit down. You can tell me about Kansas.”

Loki laughed. “It’s not that exciting. But I haven’t been able to go to your bakery the past few days because I’ve been a night owl writing and in Kansas.”

That made Thor’s eyebrow shoot up. “Why?”

“A senator there supports trans-gender rights. It’s a pretty big deal for politics. Kansas is really conservative so the fact that an elected official wants to take a liberal stance has the whole state excited.” Loki smiled. “ _I’m_ even excited. And I’ve been covering politics since I was in college.”

Thor nodded. “That’s exciting to hear.” He said. “Forgive me if I don’t know a lot about issues or politics. I just write songs and bake things.”

“That’s important.” Loki said sarcastically.

Thor shoved his arm slightly. But he was laughing. “We all can’t be successful journalists.” He said.

“Speaking of which, my friend was reading the other articles written about you and I’m the only one who got an interview.” Loki said smugly. “That will undoubtedly help sales.”

“Oh yeah Sif says that your article has been all over our fan forum. Apparently people are doing an in depth analysis of us.” Thor said.

“You have a fan forum?” Loki asked.

Thor only laughed. “Oh yeah. It’s hilarious. Everyone speculates crazy things left and right. I don’t think it’s quite healthy for people to be so obsessed with us. But if it makes them happy.” Thor just shrugged his shoulders.

“And now your morbid internet stalkers are dissecting my article. Wonderful.” Loki threw his hands up. “I’m getting a drink. That merits some alcohol.”

Thor followed Loki to the bar.

After they had their drinks Loki went looking for the food.

“I’m starving.” Loki told Thor. “It’s unfair. I had to sit and watch this Kansan Representative eating KFC right in front of me and he didn’t even offer me a biscuit. I only had gross oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, and for some reason today was fried chicken day at the capital! God it was terrible.”

Loki looked over at Thor and saw that he was trying not to laugh.

“Are you making fun of me?” Loki asked with a frown.

“No of course not.” Thor said seriously.

“Good. Because I’ll not have it.” Loki said as he held a finger up.

Thor seemed happy to follow Loki through Tony’s house. It was when they were in Tony’s smaller side kitchen that Loki looked over at him.

“You don’t have to stay with me you know.” Loki said. “You can go tell people about your band. It won’t hurt my feelings.”

Thor looked around the little kitchen. They were alone in here, as all the swanky people were lounging on couches outside.

“It’s fine. You and Steve are the only people I know here.” Thor said.

Loki scratched his head and set his wine down before opening the fridge.

“Yes! Jarvis bought some groceries.” Loki said.

“Is Jarvis Tony’s butler?”

“No, he’s the AI. It stands for Artificial Intelligence. It’s really creepy because it talks to Tony and argues with him. But it remembers to buy food so I’m happy with it.” Loki said.

Thor’s brow was creased. “That sounds like the kind of thing Orwell would write about.” Then Thor made his voice do a funny accent and he said, “Once the humans stop grocery shopping they stop being human.”

Loki’s jaw dropped. And then he collapsed against the fridge laughing. “First of all! Orwell? Broke his entire life. He didn’t say jack shit about grocery shopping!” Loki was giggling. “Second! What was that? That was a terrible impersonation.”

Thor was smiling sheepishly. “I’ve only read Animal Farm and 1984. I don’t know more of his stuff. But you studied English, so I thought you’d get it.”

“I can’t get it if it’s a bad joke.” Loki said.

Thor clutched at his chest. “It was a _great_ joke!” He said.

For some reason Thor stuck to his side all night. And Loki had to admit to himself, it felt really nice.

Loki ended up getting pretty smashed and giggly. He was holding his stomach and laughing at something Tony said to him and the next thing Loki knew Thor was leaning over and _singing_ in his ear.

_“It’s three am, I must be lonely.”_

Loki looked over at the tipsy Thor with wide eyes. Then he smiled at the musician.

“She says, baby well I can’t help but be scared of it all sometimes.” Loki sang back.

The next thing Loki knew Thor had wrapped an arm around him and they were singing together. Strange enough, the song they were singing used to make Loki feel sad. Maybe the alcohol was making it seem happier.

“And the rains gonna wash away, I believe it.” Thor sounded out.

After that Loki declared that he was going home and Thor was invited. Apparently singing Matchbox 20 lyrics means that you can get into Loki’s apartment or his pants. Whatever happens first.

But honestly Loki had never had someone sing to him without it being awkward.

Maybe this whole rock star thing wasn’t too weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they sing is '3am' a really popular Matchbox 20 song.


	5. Real World

Loki sat up in his own bed half naked the next morning. He had a pretty bad headache and he was stretching when he noticed the other person in his bed.

Unsurprisingly, it was Thor. And he was mostly dressed. So they hadn’t had sex or anything. Probably just some totally platonic masculine cuddling.

“Sorry Thor.” Loki said when one of Thor’s eyes was open.

“What for?” Thor asked as he sat up and rubbed his forehead. “Last night was fun.”

“I promised strippers.” Loki said. “They weren’t there.”

Thor gave Loki this incredulous look. Like he couldn’t believe Loki. But Loki decided not to decode the look and instead got up to make coffee.

“I don’t have a lot of groceries.” Loki said. “I got back yesterday, so we can have carrots or dry cereal for breakfast.”

Thor followed him and looked at what Loki had.

“No wonder you stay so skinny.” Thor said as he held up the box of cereal. “You don’t have any food.”

Loki laughed. “Yeah. I was the only person in college that lost weight I swear.”

Although the reason Loki had started restricting himself was mostly because of stress and not because he was broke.

Thor hummed. “Well then we should go out to breakfast.” He said. He went over to the bed and found his shirt on the floor.

Loki scratched his head. “Really?” He asked.

“Yeah. Steve has the bakery and I don’t have anything to do until five. Fandral’s favorite diner is somewhere around here, we should go there.” Thor said.

So they awkwardly dressed and Loki followed Thor out of his little apartment and onto the streets. Thor was jovial as always and didn’t appear fazed by the fact that he hadn’t brushed his teeth yet and he was in yesterday’s clothes.

Like before Thor’s hand wandered onto Loki’s lower back and just sort of sat there like he was guiding him. The warmth of it felt nice.

They reached it after a fifteen minute walk and Thor held the door open for Loki. “After you.”

Loki went inside and saw that it was only a little full. Must be an off time.

They sat down and looked over the menu. Loki’s eyes skimmed over the breakfast items. He hadn’t had pancakes that weren’t terrible quality and from a hotel in years.

Once they had steaming plates in front of them Loki dug in. He didn’t want to admit the last time he had a full meal. Because it was a little embarrassing. A grown man like him shouldn’t have this much trouble properly feeding himself.

“You know.” Thor said as he leaned back with his cup of coffee. “Even though there weren’t any strippers there last night I had a good time.”

His hand snaked its way across the table and laid itself over Loki’s own which was holding a knife in a death grip. Loki’s eyes widened at the gesture.

“Thank you for inviting me.” Thor said as he squeezed Loki’s hand slightly.

That was… weird.

Loki swallowed and smiled. Hoping to all the gods he didn’t believe in that he didn’t have food in his teeth. “I had a great time too.” He said happily.

Thor’s smile was so welcoming that Loki wanted to kiss him. Even though he hadn’t brushed his teeth yet. What was Thor doing to him? Loki hated morning breath.

Thor had to head home after that. But before he did so he wrapped his arms around Loki and did that weird thing where he rubbed his bearded cheek against Loki’s. Loki hadn’t expected a rock star to be this affectionate.

“Come by my bakery sometime.” Thor said with bright eyes.

Loki found himself nodding and promising to do so.

When he got home he organized a few of his things and finished his piece on the Kansas senator and then his phone was ringing.

Loki pulled it out and smirked. It was Tony.

“Hello?” Loki answered sweetly.

“Hey Loki. How’s it going? By the way, who the hell was that hot blond you brought to my party? That guy had thighs to die for.” Tony was a little hungover apparently. “And he couldn’t spent the night with me. Because he _works in a bakery._ You brought my literal soul mate and I didn’t even get his number.”

Loki was stifling laughter. “Well well. It appears that you’ve gotten over Pepper.” Loki smirked. “Is this love?”

“It’s you better give me that guys number or else I’ll force you to do touristy stuff with me in front of the paps.” Tony’s threats were always creative.

“Calm down. I know who he is. And I know where the bakery is. Do you want me to send you the address?”

The line was silent so long that Loki took the phone away from his ear and looked at it to make sure that Tony hadn’t hung up.

“I don’t want to go alone.”

Loki howled with laughter. “We’re not high school girls!” Loki laughed as he collapsed onto his bed. “You can go talk to your crush all by yourself.”

“You’re probably just being lazy. I bet you’re with that other blond guy. Jeez he didn’t stop touching you all night I swear.” Tony said. “It’s a shame. I would love a three way with the two of them.”

Loki’s face scrunched. “You’re so vulgar.” He said. “And just so you know, Thor spent the night. We had a lovely sleep over.”

“Oh my god did you have sex? You just met that guy! What if he’s creepy?”

“He would’ve already killed me if he wanted to.” Loki said. Then he realized that his friendship with Tony was really weird if this was what they were talking about.

“Please please please go with me to see the hot blond baker.” Tony was begging after ten more minutes.

Loki was rubbing at his face. “Fine. But I want you to cover my next grocery bill.”

“Done.” Tony said.

“I’m going to Wholefoods.” Loki threatened.

“I’m a billionaire. Do your worst.”

Loki smiled. This would be fun. He would get to see Tony waffling around Steve and Thor would hopefully be in an apron.

They went the next day. Loki was dressed in his last clean outfit because he had to do laundry and Tony was freaking out.

“Do you think the limo is too much?” Tony asked as he fidgeted in his seat.

Loki raised an eyebrow and looked around. “Maybe. But I think the five bottles of champagne are definitely too much.”

“I just want everyone to be comfortable.” Tony said.

Loki rolled his eyes and checked his email. He had just sent his last article in and was looking for his next assignment.

The limo parked and Loki and Tony got out.

“Just hold on a little Happy. Hopefully I’ll be back with a date.” Tony said.

Loki rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

They walked up to the bakery.

“Why is it called ‘Bucky’s Bakery’?” Tony leaned over and whispered to Loki.

“I don’t actually know.” Loki admitted. “Thor didn’t tell me what it was named.”

They went inside and Loki felt uncomfortable. “It’s so cute in here.” He whispered to Tony. “I don’t think I belong in here.”

“Shut up.” Tony said. “Someone will hear you.”

Loki just raised his eyebrows and they walked in further. Steve was behind the counter and when he saw Tony he smiled.

“Tony!” He said and waved. “You came to see me!”

“I came to get some pastries.” Tony said nonchalantly. “And maybe to see a very attractive baker.”

Steve was like a huge golden retriever as he brushed his hand against the back of his head. “I’m sorry I had to go so soon. I had to open early. But I’m glad you’re here. Do you want to try a cupcake?”

Tony’s eyes were wide as saucers as he looked at all the baked goods. He was serious about his food porn. “I’ll want to try a few.” Tony said from where he was plastered against the glass of the display case.

The door opened behind them and another really buff guy walked in. This one had long dirty looking brown hair though. His wife beater really showed how muscly he was.

“Hey Steve!” The guy said. “How’s it going?”

“Hey Bucky! I have some banana bread for you.” Steve said. Then he turned to them. “This is my best pal Bucky. We had to name the bakery after him because we lost to him in poker.”

Loki nodded. But his eyes were glued on how strong Bucky looked.

“Bucky, this is Tony Stark and Loki Laufeyson.” Steve said. “Why don’t you all sit down while I bring some sweets out for you?”

Loki didn’t think anyone had said that to him since he was five but he just shrugged. “Okay.” He said and followed Bucky to a table.

Tony looked a little threatened and Loki had to hide a laugh. Unlike Tony, Loki knew he wasn’t super strong or muscly. He admitted it accepted it and lived with it.

“I’ve heard so much about you.” Bucky said to Tony when they were sitting. “Steve had a lot of good things to say about you.”

“Did he?” Tony said as he leaned forward and smirked cockily. “They all usually do.”

“But you know, since I’m Steve’s best friend. I gotta make sure that he’s alright. You know?” Bucky asked. “I can’t have people treatin’ him badly.” And then Bucky pulled an arm up and started flexing his muscles while looking right at Tony. Tony for his part looked terrified.

Loki’s eyes fixated Bucky’s arm. “Wow.” He said. “You have great definition.” He held a hand out, “May I?” He asked.

Bucky gave Loki a smug smirk. “Sure why not?”

Tony gave Loki a look of pure betrayal as Loki felt Bucky’s muscles. “These must have taken a lot of work.” Loki said as he felt how rock hard they were.

“Yeah, I gotta do a lot to maintain ‘em.” Bucky said.

Just then the kitchen door opened and Thor came out with a plate of cupcakes.

“Loki!” He said when he saw Loki feeling up Bucky’s muscles.

“Hello Thor.” Loki said cheerfully. “I came to see your bakery.”

“And Bucky apparently.” Thor said as he set the plate down.

“But also to see you.” Loki said as he stood up and walked up to Thor. “I remember you promising that your pastries were better than the ones at Starbucks.”

Tony and Bucky looked at them and just shrugged reaching for cupcakes. When they each grabbed the same one Bucky gave Tony the death glare and Tony cowered.

“Come back to the kitchen!” Thor said excitedly as he grabbed Loki’s hand. “I’ll show you.”

“Bye Tony!” Loki called before he was back in the kitchen alone with Thor.

“Here try one of these.” Thor took a cookie off of one of the counters and handed it to Loki.

Loki took it. “What kind is it?” He asked.

“Sugar.” Thor said.

Loki took a bite and he nodded. “That’s amazing.” He said. “I haven’t a cookie like this in years.”

“You like it!” Thor said.

“Yeah.” Loki laughed. “Were you worried?”

“Well I mean, if you didn’t like it then things would probably just go downhill from here.” Thor said.

Thor pulled some cupcakes out of the oven and put another tray in. “Sorry, I have to work too.” Thor said sheepishly.

“It’s fine.” Loki said.

Thor started icing another batch of cupcakes. And Loki couldn’t contain his smile. Thor looked so ridiculous with his pierced ears, hairnet and all black ensemble. He didn’t look anything like a baker.

Loki washed his hands and sidled up to stand next to Thor.

“Do you want me to help?” He asked.

Thor raised his eyebrows. “Have you ever done this before?”

“Yeah!” Loki lied. “Totally. Besides, how hard is it to frost a cupcake?”

Thor handed Loki the frosting and Loki got to work.

And destroyed it. As in somehow the top of the cupcake ended up on the countertop and frosting ended up on Loki’s face.

“Wow. It is harder than he looks.” Loki turned to Thor. “Sorry about that—“

But before Loki could say anymore Thor had taken the frosting out of his hand, wrapped his own around Loki’s hand and leaned down to kiss him.


	6. Mad Season

Loki blinked. Thor was kissing him.

He pushed Thor back slightly. “Why are you kissing me?”

Thor looked confused. “I like you.”

“Oh.” Loki said. Then pulled Thor back by the collar of his shirt and kissed him again.

Thor crowds Loki up against the countertop as he kisses back with enthusiasm. Loki finds himself smirking and he wraps an arm around Thor’s shoulders and brings them together.

Thor’s huge hands settle gently over Loki’s hipbones and seemed to radiate heat. Loki liked it. Thor was so much bigger and stronger than him, it was a nice feeling. It was also nice getting a chance to feel Thor’s muscles up close and personal like this.

Thor had just started mouthing at Loki’s neck when the kitchen door opened and Steve walked in.

“Oh my god!” Steve yelled. “ _Not in the kitchen!”_

“Thor was just showing me how to frost a cupcake.” Loki said as he ran a hand through Thor’s hair.

Steve is actually covering his eyes. “Okay. Okay. Okay.” He was repeating to himself. “This is _not sanitary.”_

Thor and Loki separate and Loki has to stifle laughter. “I’ll just go now.” He whispers to Thor.

“Sorry Steve, I got a little carried away…” Thor said. “It won’t happen again I promise.”

Steve is too busy to accept the apology because he’s grabbing cleaning supplies.

Thor followed Loki out of the kitchen. “Thank you for coming.” Thor said with his bright smile.

Tony and Bucky are sitting together in uncomfortable silence but they both look up at Thor and Loki when they walk in.

“Nice job Thor.” Bucky said with a thumbs up.

“Thanks.” Thor looks pleased with himself.

Loki’s pretty sure they’re talking about him. But he can’t bring himself to really care. He just made out with Thor in a bakery kitchen. He’s not really in the mood to care about what homeless hot Bucky thinks.

“Have you had your fun?” Loki asked Tony. “Because I’m pretty sure we have a wholefoods date.”

Tony got up awkwardly. “Yeah. We have to go to Wholefoods.”

“Real men shop at Trader Joes.” Bucky says nonchalantly.

“I believe it.” Loki said.

“Gender is a social construct!” Tony yelled back at Bucky. The other patrons in the bakery giving them weird looks.

“Hey, sorry I have to get back to work.” Thor said with a hand on Loki’s arm. “But how about we have dinner together tomorrow night?”

Loki finds himself nodding. He doesn’t have any plans other than hit up the bars and write. “Sure.” He said.

“Good.” Thor said. Then he leaned forward and kissed Loki’s cheek.

Loki hopes again to all the gods he doesn’t believe in that he isn’t blushing. Because that was adorably sweet, and a little left field. He would have to talk to Thor about that. Loki can handle fat, old, homophobic, conservative politicians. But not sicky sweet PDA.

Tony and Bucky were still arguing over something so Loki reached out and grabbed Tony’s collar. “Let’s go.” He said and promptly dragged Tony out of the bakery.

“Did you get Steve’s number?” Loki asked when they were outside.

“Sure did!” Tony said gleefully. “I even got invited for dinner tonight. At Steve’s house.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “That’s domestic.”

“So is doing it in the kitchen. But we all have to do that at least once. One time when I was in college…”

“I’ll just stop you right there.” Loki said and pushed Tony into the limo. “Happy, take us to Wholefoods.”

The next morning Loki woke up bright and early. And giddy about dinner with Thor. Thor had already texted the details of where it was and what to wear and Loki was excited.

He went into his office earlier than usual and found Sigyn painting her nails in their cubicle.

“Your trans article is making waves.” Sigyn said without looking up at him. “Nick and Phil talked about it on their show.”

Loki’s jaw almost dropped. Nick Fury and Phil Coulson are two morning talk show hosts. They have a thirty minute segment they film each day somewhere in the city. They usually talk about news and politics, but they hadn’t talked about any of his articles before.

The whole appeal of their show is their wildly different beliefs. Nick Fury is a communist. Might even be a straight up Marxist if anyone is asking Loki privately. And Phil Coulson is a capitalist. So they really like talking about economics together and it’s always entertaining.

And the two of them had apparently discussed Loki’s article. Wow.

Sigyn looked up at him then. “You look really happy.” She observed him for a moment and looked him over. “Did you go to Wholefoods? You have the Wholefoods glow.”

Loki wasn’t aware of any glow. But he had eaten a real breakfast with coffee that wasn’t Starbucks so maybe that was it.

“No that’s not it. You’re happy about something other than food.” Sigyn stroked her chin and pursed her red lips. “I’ll figure it out.”

“You’re a journalist not a private investigator.” Loki said as he sat down. “Any idea what the story is this week?”

“They want you to do more of an essay.” Sigyn said. “Something about the public’s relationship with celebrities.”

“Ew.” Loki said as he sipped his coffee.

Suddenly someone leaned around the corner of their cubicle and yelled, “Loki!”

It was Tony.

“What are you doing here?” Sigyn asked. “You don’t ever get up before noon.” This was not the first time Tony Stark had stopped by Loki’s office.

“That’s not true and I resent that!” Tony said to Sigyn without conviction. Then he turned to Loki and looked mad. “Steve lives _with Bucky!_ ”

Loki laughed. “Oh that’s rich.” He said. “How was dinner?”

“Awkward!” Tony said angrily as he pulled a rolling chair into their already tight cubicle. “He kept giving me the disapproval look and flexing his muscles! I don’t know how Steve can stand him and his alpha male act.”

Sigyn sat up. “Did you go on a date?” She asked mischievously.

“I did not!” Tony said sharply to her. “Tony Stark does not date!”

“This is adorable. Is Bucky the roommate?” She leaned forward excitedly.

“Yeah. And he’s like this homeless looking Chuck Norris. He keeps threatening to do unspeakable things to me if I do anything! But he doesn’t care that Loki’s banging their other friend! It’s not fair!”

Sigyn gasped really loudly. _“Oh my god!”_ she squealed. “You didn’t tell me!”

Loki crossed his arms. “My sex life is none of your business.”

But Sigyn didn’t care. She just grabbed Loki’s arm. “I’m so happy! This is great. It’s been way too long for you to be single. I was about to get you a cat.”

“I don’t need a cat!”

“No. You need to keep writing me good stories.” Emma Frost, their editor boomed from the door to their cubicle. She was in all white with her hair impeccably done. She was very attractive and Loki was wondering if he was developing a thing for blondes.

“Hello Tony.” Emma said. “Is your lab broken?”

Tony laughed. “No! Just catching up with Loki here.”

“Well don’t distract him too much. He’s going to churn us a cover story this week.” Then she left.

Loki checked his inbox and sure enough the assignment was in there. “This is boring.” Loki looked around the cubicle. “Let’s go out to brunch! And I’ll do some writing for this.”

Sigyn already had her purse. “Let’s do it! Tony’s paying.”

Tony grumbled but followed them out of the office.

Later that night Loki was getting ready to meet up with Thor. He decided on his favorite black pants and a white dress shirt. He left it untucked because he wasn’t trying that hard. Obviously.

He couldn’t deny that he was nervous though. This sort of felt like a date. But Thor hadn’t said it was a date. Loki didn’t want to misunderstand and make Thor uncomfortable. Maybe he just wanted to be friends with benefits. It’s possible.

Loki went to the restaurant they were eating at and it was fairly nice. Good thing he’d picked a collared shirt because the vneck he’d been eyeing wouldn’t fly here. Loki smiled as he looked at the décor. He spent a lot of time in seedy bars writing articles. It was nice to eat somewhere else for once.

Thor looked great. He wasn’t in all black or leather so Loki felt a little cheated. But he cleaned up really well and had his hair in a man ponytail and silver earrings in.

He greeted Loki with a kiss on the cheek and a hug and they sat down.

Once they had glasses of wine and ordered Thor asked about Loki’s day. What an extrovert.

“It’s been a good day.” Loki answered. “Tony took Sigyn and me out to brunch and my trans article was mentioned on Nick and Phil’s show.”

“Oh you mean the Communist guy and the other guy?” Thor asked excitedly. “They’re so funny! That’s awesome. I’m happy for you.”

“I know.” Loki said proudly. “It means that they’re reading Frost magazine. Or at least paying someone else to do it.”

Loki asked about Thor’s life because it seemed polite.

“The bakery is doing well. And I’ve written a bunch of songs for Mjolnir.” Thor looked a little uncomfortable then. “Sif and Fandral aren’t sure about them though. They think they’re too happy.”

Loki raised a brow. “Really? Too happy? I don’t think it’s possible. I’m a journalist, the news is almost always bad. The world needs a little more happy in it.” Loki said. “Happy songs happy stories. I say write it.”

That seemed to make Thor smile. “You think so?”

“I do. Art is art whether it’s happy or sad or angry.” Loki made his own hand snake across the table and cover Thor’s large one. “If you want to make happy songs then you should.”

“I will then.” Thor was resolute. “Can I send one to you when it’s made?”

“Sure.” Loki said. It would be cool to hear a Mjolnir song before it was released. Like he was a VIP.

The waitress showed up with their food then and flirted shamelessly with Thor. On one hand Loki couldn’t blame her, Thor was hot. But Loki had clearly just been holding his hand.

But all thoughts of flirtatious waitresses and jealousy were gone when Thor invited Loki over to his house. And Loki accepted.

They made it in the door and then Loki had arms full of Thor’s muscled body. Thor pressed him gently against the wall and furiously kissed him. Loki wrapped his arms around Thor’s neck and pressed himself closer feeling Thor’s body through their clothing. Thor’s tongue found its way in Loki’s mouth and Loki grabbed the back of Thor’s head.

Thor’s hands went under Loki’s thighs and he hefted him up easily. Loki squeaked and had to wrap himself around Thor to keep his balance. Thor just laughed and then set Loki down on his bed.

“You’re so hot.” Thor murmured as he hovered over Loki on the bed. “I wanted to do this the whole time we were in that restaurant.”

Loki tried to mask how much that pleased him. But he knew he failed when Thor was smirking at him. Thor made short work of Loki’s shirt and then pulled the undershirt off and away, running his hands greedily over Loki’s flesh.

Loki reached up and helped Thor slip out of his shirt and the view was totally worth it. “You’re gorgeous.” Loki praised. “I thought for sure you would have a tattoo.”

Thor laughed as he kissed along Loki’s collarbone. “No, none of those.” He said as he palmed down Loki’s sides.

They both shimmied out of their pants and underwear and Loki downright moaned when Thor’s hand wrapped around his cock. It was so much bigger than his and calloused and warm, and it was wonderful.

Thor stroked him and pressed kisses into his neck. Thor’s other hand swept lower and circled Loki’s entrance. It didn’t penetrate, but it sent little pleasant tingles up Loki’s spine. Loki came a few minutes later and then reached down to Thor’s with hooded eyes.

They fell asleep tangled together.

Loki woke up the next morning and stretched. The sun was streaming in the windows and he felt happy and sated. Thor was already out of bed and in his little kitchen doing something. Loki hoped he was making coffee.

“Do you like pancakes?” Thor called.

“Yeah.” Loki answered.

He got up and stretched again. Slipping into his boxers and pants he headed for Thor’s tiny kitchen. Only to stop halfway and look at a table. There was a slim little book on it. Loki picked it up. Genuinely interested in whatever Thor was reading.

The cover art was extremely familiar and the title sent a pang through Loki’s heart.

_Ruminations from the Frost Giant._

It was his book. He had written it during his last two years in college. It was just a collection of short stories and a few poems and a publisher had published it for him. It hadn’t been a best seller or anything, but it had given Loki a somewhat steady income while he was trying to make it as a journalist.

He hadn’t seen a copy of it in years though.

Loki set it down and looked up into the kitchen. The fact that Thor was reading or had already read his book sent an odd sense of happiness through him.


	7. If You're Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope no one is lactose intolerant because this chapter is really cheesy. Enjoy.

Loki’s next week was pretty great. He worked on his essay for Frost and he was actually growing proud of it. The public’s relationship with celebrities was a huge deal in the country and he was happy to chime his two cents in.

Thor invited Loki to eat dinner with his family. And that had been weird.

Thor’s Dad was this one eyed absent minded old man. Loki couldn’t figure out if he was happy about Thor’s life decisions. It was hard to tell.

Thor’s Mom was really nice. Almost alarmingly so. She kept offering Loki food. At every opportunity. And Loki figured out who Thor had inherited his love of baking from.

Thor’s brother was like their Mom. He was so nice to Loki that it made Loki want to puke. Why were (with the exception of Odin) all so infuriatingly nice?

But after that the rest of the week went well. Loki and Tony went back to the bakery and Bucky threatened Tony some more and showed Loki his favorite method for lifting weights. That seemed to annoy Thor for some reason. Loki didn’t quite get it. Didn’t Thor know that Loki just liked appreciating the human body? And Bucky had a pretty nice one.

The next week Loki’s life exploded. In a good way.

He opened his inbox early in the morning and saw an email from the Nick and Phil show.

Loki’s jaw dropped. Why were they emailing him?

It turned out that they wanted Loki to go on their show and talk about his latest article. They liked reading it and wanted to hear about it from Loki himself.

The fact that they were paying a thousand dollars for Loki to appear was the deciding factor.

Thor and Steve were really excited about Loki’s televised appearance. Steve offered to bake Loki a cake and Thor said that he would go with him if he got nervous.

Loki laughed. He and Thor might be getting closer but Loki could certainly handle this by himself.

It was exciting.

Loki read up on Communism and Capitalism in preparation for the show and he read over his article and before he knew it, it was time for him to go.

The producers told him that Nick and Phil wouldn’t meet up with him before they were filming because they wanted their first meeting to be authentic. That made Loki laugh. They were totally going to grill him. But he would be ready.

When Loki got the green light he stepped onto the set and wanted to immediately turn around. The room was huge, there were five cameras in total, Nick and Phil were at their desk and the live studio audience was massive.

“Please welcome special guest Loki Laufeyson!” Phil Coulson was saying happily.

Loki waved at the live audience weakly and then walked up to the desk. Phil and Nick had put a chair in between them where Loki would sit and all three would face the audience.

Loki sat down and smiled at the crowd and the camera. “Hello.” He said after the very weak applause.

“Hello!” Phil said brightly from Loki’s left. “Everyone this is Loki Laufeyson. A very credible very talented journalist from Frost magazine. We’ve talked about his stuff on the show before and we love him. We think he is incredibly smart. And Nick might be his number one fan.”

Loki turned to Nick Fury who was stoic. “That is true.” Was all he said.

Loki had a grin as he faced the crowd.

“Can I say.” Phil said as he looked at the screen. “That you look amazing on camera Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Call me Loki.” Loki said. “Mr. Laufeyson is my brother.” Loki was pretty sure Byleistr would never see this so it’s fine.

“He’s the best looking guest we’ve had so far. And we had Natasha Romanoff last week.”

Loki tried not to blush. Maybe they were trying to disarm him.

“Anyway, his latest article is all about how the public views celebrities and the negative effects of such an obsession.” Phil Coulson says to the camera. “Loki states that the public has an over-obsession with celebrities at the cost of missing out on important current events. He goes on further to say that celebrities might as well be corporate puppets for all the advertising they do.”

Nick Fury slams a hand on the desk. “I agree!” he said loudly. “The public is being manipulated by celebrities into buying things. This would never happen in a society without exploitation.”

“But Nick! We’re somewhat celebrities too.” Phil Coulson said.

“That’s true.” Loki interjected. “You two have celebrity power. Not as much as Tony Stark or anyone like that, but enough to maintain this show and sell commercial time. So you two are definitely a part of this.”

“Would a communist society have celebrities?” Phil Coulson asked.

“No.” Nick Fury said. “It wouldn’t. It would be happy and everyone would be equal and important.”

“What do you think Loki? Would people be happy without celebrities?”

Loki stroked his chin. “I can’t say for certain. But I can say that the way it is now the people of America would generally prefer watching a reality show than reading about a current issue or a political issue. My friend Sigyn writes for Frost and her articles are always about food or fashion or celebrities and her articles get a lot more traction than mine do.”

“But yours are always the more enlightening?” Phil asked.

“I would say so.”

“So if there were no public figures like that, everyone would be more interested in more important issues.” Nick said. “I agree.”

“I disagree. Lots of people see the public figures and want to emulate them and look up to them. In a world without them there would be no role models.” Phil said.

“Then you would have to be your own role model, which you should anyway.” Loki said.

Nick high fived Loki then.

And Phil looked mad (only for the theatrics because he totally just winked at Loki).

“My next question is, how do you reconcile your personal life with your feelings about the obsession with celebrities? You are famously one of Tony Stark’s closest friends. You make a living off of writing about foreign and domestic politicians, where would your idea of a perfect society leave you?”

“Well.” Loki started. “I’m sandwiched between a Communist and a Capitalist so I have to choose my words lightly. But American society is not communist or capitalist. And if we lived in a society like I talk about in my article then I would not be as successful as I am. Everyone would care about politics instead of the small informed population that does and the number of political journalists would double for sure.”

“Furthermore.” Loki continued. “I would be out of the job. Everyone would work on educating themselves on these issues and the population would probably become so intelligent that it would stop caring about journalism all together.”

“This is all me postulating of course.” Loki ended. “I have no idea what would actually happen. But I do know that I met Tony Stark because of the way society works. And in a different one we would not have crossed paths.”

Nick and Phil were nodding along.

“My question is about the part of the article where you talk about the fantasy of dating a celebrity.” Nick Fury said. “You wrote that everyone secretly wishes to date and marry an A-list star and about how limiting that is.”

“It is limiting.” Loki said. “There’s so much more that one can focus on than who they could be dating. Like I’ve said, the obsession with these celebrities has so changed the minds of the public that they would prefer to daydream about Sam Wilson instead of caring about what countries are at war in the world and why.”

“I disagree!” Phil said. “The part of the population that daydreams about marrying a celebrity is not big enough to have that much of an effect.”

Loki just shrugged. “We have a freedom of speech so I can write my mind. And I have.”

“We’re running low on time, but we have one more question for you.” Nick said. “You’re in the public sphere too. You meet all kinds of celebrities all the time and you’re good friends with Tony Stark, and my question is would you date a celebrity? Since you come across so many?”

Loki thinks it over. “Probably not.” He admits. “I prefer to date someone who has a keen intellect. I like to have deep conversations with the person I’m dating and I don’t think that will happen if I’m dating a celebrity.”

“Oooh burn!” Nick Fury said.

“So you don’t think celebrities are smart enough for you?” Phil asked.

“Some might be. But I wouldn’t say so for all of them.” Loki said.

They wrapped up Loki’s segment after a few more minutes and then they let Loki leave.

“Hey, we really enjoyed having you on the show.” Phil Coulson said afterward.

“Yeah. Thank you.” Nick Fury said. “It’s always nice to have a guest that agrees with me.”

Phil glared at him. Before a fond smile wormed its way onto his mouth. He and Nick loved each other and no one can deny it.

“Anyway, we’ll probably have you on the show a few more times. We really liked you.” Phil said.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what our fans think.” Nick said.

“Of course. Thank you both. That was the most publicity I’ve ever received.” Loki admitted.

They chatted for a few more minutes until Loki left and went home.

He didn’t have anywhere to be for the day and his next assignment wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. So Loki decided to take it easy and do some laundry, write some of his freelance stuff, cook dinner and clean his apartment.

He was separating socks and wondering where all the matches went when his phone buzzed.

It was a text message from Thor.

Loki opened it up and it said,

_You did great on Phil and Nick’s show! So proud and happy for you._ _:)_

_I also attached the song I told you about the other night. We just finished it and I wanted you to be the first person to hear it._

_< 3-Thor_

Loki’s stomach flipped when he saw the audio file attached to the text message.

Thor was letting Loki have access to an unreleased Mjolnir song. This is pretty cool.

Loki looked all over his flat for his headphones and when he found them he plugged them in and sat at his little table.

He hesitated over the play button. He hadn’t listened to too many Mjolnir songs in the past. He’d liked what he heard and Thor said that they were sometimes autobiographical.

Loki shook his head, gathered his resolve and pressed play.

It was… beautiful.

The song was definitely called ‘The Writer’ from how often Thor said it. But it had a peaceful sound to it that the other songs hadn’t quite grasped. It had a lovely bit with a saxophone and Loki remembered his love for saxophone music. It wasn’t smooth jazz, it was still rock for sure. But this song was happier than the rest for sure.

It was about someone who spent all their time writing other people’s stories. Day after day telling the tale of someone else. But the best story is the one they haven’t told. _Their story._

Loki actually grabbed his chest right over the spot where his heart was hammering.

Was this song written about him? Because if it is then this might just be the nicest thing anyone has ever done.

Loki wants to ask if it’s about him. But he figures that he can ask Thor in person if it is. He’d like to see Thor’s face.

So Loki just texts back, _It is my new favorite song. I love it. Thank you for sharing._

And then Loki sits back and presses repeat and thinks about writers and rock stars.


	8. 3am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a nice cup of Darfeeling Tea.

Loki didn’t get a chance to talk to Thor though, because the next time they met up Thor was hysterically excited about something.

Mjolnir was going to perform in a concert in a week. And Thor was freaking out about it.

“What songs will we play? What instruments will be bring? How are we going to pay for travel?” Thor as asking tiredly.

Loki was sipping tea. “I don’t know.” He said blandly. He wanted to ask about _The Writer,_ but Thor was so stressed out it felt wrong. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Loki marks his calendar for the day. Mjolnir will be performing outside of the city where there’s more room for an outdoor crowd.

Loki listens to Thor rattle on and on about the performance and how important it is and he finds himself listening. He senses that Thor just wants to pour all his worries and feelings out and lets him. It’s odd. Normally Loki is not so indulging.

Loki is getting excited for the performance too. And can’t wait to see it.

But like always, his work interrupts him and the day before Thor’s concert Loki has to jet off to LA to cover a story about a model turned philanthropist. He grumbles and groans but on the inside he knows that it is money and he needs money.

So he goes and meets with the model and gets enough information to write the article.

But Frost paid for him to be in LA for three days. So he stays and looks around.

On one morning he is just waking up and rousing himself from bed when his phone rings and he picks it up answering without thinking.

“Loki here.”

“Get your computer out and look at Phil and Nick’s latest show. Their website streams them. Now.” Sigyn said.

Loki sighs but does as she says. Meanwhile there is dead silence on the other end of the line.

Once his computer is booted and he sat through the commercial before the episode he sees it.

Nick and Phil are at their desks and their talking about current events like usual.

“Why did you wake me up for this?” Loki asked Sigyn.

“Keep watching.”

So Loki keeps watching. They talk about drones, the EPA and cell phone cases before what they say makes his blood run cold.

“Last week we had a special guest on the show.” Phil Coulson began. And a picture of Loki appears on the screen. He doesn’t know exactly when the photo was taken but he can make out Tony’s suit next to him. So it was probably at a gala they both attended.

“And recently a video surfaced that involves Mr. Loki Laufeyson.” Phil Coulson said. “We’ll roll the clip now.”

The clip is Thor and it makes Loki’s breath hitch. Thor is on stage performing and the song he’s singing sounds extremely familiar. But Loki can’t quite place it. It’s not a Mjolnir song, it’s something else.

Then it hits Loki. It’s Taylor Swift. Thor is playing a Taylor Swift song.

Loki listens intently and notices that Thor and the band have completely redone the song and made it much more rock than pop. And Loki honestly has never heard Taylor Swift’s stuff sound like that.

It’s the song Enchanted. It was popular years ago, back when TSwift had her curly hair. Loki slightly remembers it. He had been in school then.

Thor reaches the end of the song, and then in the last part of the song he sings, “Loki I am so in love with you!”

And the crowd cheered nonstop, even though none of them knew who Loki was.

Loki’s heart has stopped now and his cold fingers are clutching at the phone. “What did I just witness?” He whispers to Sigyn.

“Oh just wait. They have some commentary.”

Phil Coulson has a shit eating grin on his face. “If any of our fans remember, last week Loki was talking about the public’s relationship with celebrities. And in particular he said that he would never date a celebrity.”

Nick Fury gestures to the camera. “Let’s roll that clip.”

And to Loki’s utter mortification they play the part where he says that he wouldn’t date a celebrity. Where he says that he prefers someone who he can have long conversations with. Loki actually feels a bit of his soul die.

The screen cuts to Nick Fury and next to him is a picture of Thor performing in a tight black shirt drenched in sweat. All of his muscles clearly defined. “You know Phil, I bet they have a lot of deep conversations.” He says with a wink.

Loki wonders if this will end his career. He’ll have to apply to work at Starbucks now.

“The man singing in the clip is Thor Odinson. He is the lead singer of a well-established rock band that has recently started gaining popularity. He is twenty eight years old and he’s earned his status.” Phil Coulson explained.

Loki hadn’t known Thor was that old. Loki himself was only twenty four.

“And we did some checking of our own. And a few months back Loki, the one claiming never to date celebrities wrote an article about Mjolnir and it is likely that they met then and that Mr. Odinson is talking about the same Loki.” Nick Fury added. “Normally we don’t like to report about gossip stuff, but we made an exception here.”

“We could go into how Mr. Laufeyson has proven to be a hypocrite and untrustworthy. But I don’t think he is.” Phil Coulson said. “Love is a factor that you can never predict and it can be devastating. Love can change everything about your perceptions. It doesn’t care about what you think. Sometimes it just happens. And I think that is what happened to Mr. Laufeyson. I believe he truly thought one way and then fell in love. And it’s fine.”

“Yes. For once we agree Phil.” Nick said. “To our younger audience, we just wanted to say that sometimes life proves you wrong. But that isn’t bad. We also wanted to say that love is something that should be celebrated, so we didn’t go into how Mr. Odinson had completely contradicted all of Mr. Laufeyson’s statements.”

“We’re not going to ridicule him for having a relationship.” Phil Coulson added. “Because Thor is not a mega celebrity like we talked about.”

“And we wish him well in his relationship.” Nick Fury said and then waved at the camera.

Loki felt his heart freeze.

“Sigyn did that really just air?”

“Oh yeah. And it has a lot of views.” Sigyn said.

“Damn.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you hooked up with him? I would have been fine with it!” Sigyn said in an accusatory tone.

“I didn’t think we were together or anything.” Loki said. “We hang out and fuck sometimes. He’s never said anything like that before.”

But Thor did potentially write a song about Loki. The jury’s out on that one though.

So Loki heads back to New York. And his stomach is all tied in knots.

Thor calls him excitedly when Loki arrives and instead of heading to his house, he goes to Thor’s. They have a lot to talk about.

When Thor opens the door his expression shifts and he almost takes a step backward when he sees Loki’s face. Loki has no idea what his face looks like, only that he must look tired and sad.

“Why didn’t you tell me you loved me?” Loki asks as soon as the door is closed.

Thor’s eyes are wide with shock. “I… I thought you knew.” He stutters.

“I didn’t.” Loki says. And he wants to cry.

“We went on dates…” Thor says in a lost tone. “You met my friends. You met my _family._ I thought you knew.”

“You didn’t say anything though. So I just assumed you were treating me like your other friends.” Loki shrugs.

“I don’t have sex with my friends. And I certainly don’t write songs about them.”

Loki feels his eyes fill with tears and he looks down.

Thor steps closer and tries to wrap his hands around Loki but Loki just pushes him away.

“I’ve never been good at talking about my feelings.” Thor said quietly. “I can write songs about them, and tell them to a huge crowd. But when I care about the other person I close up. I guess I justified it with you by taking you out on dates and dating you without telling you that we were dating. Everyone always says actions speak louder than words.”

Loki looks up at him. “I like words.” He muttered.

“I’m sorry.” Thor said. “And I’ll understand if you don’t want to see me anymore. But I would like to keep seeing you. None of my other relationships have felt like this. I’d like to meet your family too.”

Loki laughed bitterly and found a chair to sit in. He rubbed at his forehead. “Wouldn’t we all.” He said.

“You talked about your brother with Phil and Nick.” Thor said.

“I did.” Loki admitted. “But I haven’t seen him in four years. He could be in jail for all I know. In fact I’m pretty sure that’s where he is. Ever since our Dad killed himself he hasn’t been speaking to me.”

 _“What?”_ Thor cried. “Your Dad committed suicide?” His eyes are wide and filled with so many emotions Loki couldn’t count them all.

Loki hadn’t talked about Laufey in years. It just hurt and made him feel bad. Neither Tony nor Sigyn knew anything about his Father.

“Yeah. My Dad killed himself when I was twenty.” Loki said and he looked down. “I haven’t really been doing my best since then.”

“That’s—That’s—“ Thor struggled to say.

“I know.” Loki said as he looked down at his face. “Apparently he was depressed for years and just really good at hiding it. But once Byleistr and I moved out and started living on our own he guessed that he could end it then.”

Loki runs his hands through his hair. “What really sucks is that he was trying to call me. Before he did it. Because I was his favorite. But I was out with some friends in the country with no cell phone reception. I came home to find a bunch of missed calls and the cops knocking on my door to tell me about my Dad.”

Loki closed his eyes and swallowed. “Byleistr never forgave me for being the favorite. And when he found out that Dad had been calling me and not him and that _I didn’t answer_ he left and told me he never wanted to see me again.”

“Oh Loki… He wasn’t right, how could you know?” Thor asked.

“But it was still me who didn’t answer. I could have stopped him. I could have gotten him help. And I’ve had to live with that knowledge for years.” Loki looked up at Thor. “And I’ve been messed up about it for years. I don’t think you want to be with me.”

“You don’t get to say that.” Thor said quietly. “I can make my own decisions about who I want to date. None of it was your fault you know. You couldn’t have done anything, you shouldn’t have to live with the guilt.”

“I tried to write about it.” Loki said. “I tried again and again to write about it thinking that if I put it all on paper I could work past it. That’s how _Ruminations from the Frost Giant_ was born.” Loki said.

Thor looked away then. “I read that too. I guessed that you’d been through some trauma. Especially after the story about the little boy and his serpent friend. That one made me cry. And it was when I started writing _The Writer._ ”

Loki laughed a little and wiped his tears away. “You know I can’t even write about suicide anymore. If I get sent to cover a story about a suicide bill or a suicide I turn it down and don’t get a paycheck. I can’t do it. Not after my Dad.”

“You don’t have to.” Thor said and he took Loki’s hands in his. “You can stay with me when you don’t get a paycheck. I’ll take care of you.”

Loki laughed again. “I guess I’ve made a mess of things.” He said when he looked into Thor’s sad face. “You were excited about your concert and all I’ve been doing is crying.”

“It’s okay.” Thor said quickly and then he wrapped Loki in a hug. And it felt amazing. Loki hadn’t been held like that in a long time. He rested his head against Thor’s shoulder and breathed his scent in.

“You know I used to be different.” Loki murmured. “I used to be funny and I used to pull the most elaborate pranks. I was fun before my Dad. I think you’d like that Loki a lot more than this one.”

Thor’s hand ran through Loki’s hair and then cupped his neck. His strong fingers kneaded at the tension knobs at the base of Loki’s skull. “I love you just the way you are.” He murmured. “And I am truly sorry about your Father.”

Loki burrowed closer to Thor and drank his scent in. And let himself be held.

“Will you stay?” Thor asked quietly.

Loki thinks it over. And then decides that yes he will stay.

“Yeah. I’ll stay with you.” Loki murmured back.

And it is enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I can't help but be scared of it all sometimes." -Matchbox Twenty.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
